Stone Holly R, McGreevy Paul D, Starling Melissa J, Forkman Bjorn
Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, 2006, Australia.
University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
PLoS One. 2016 Feb 26;11(2):e0149403. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0149403. eCollection 2016.
The domestic dog shows a wide range of morphologies, that humans have selected for in the process of creating unique breeds. Recent studies have revealed correlations between changes in morphology and behaviour as reported by owners. For example, as height and weight decrease, many undesirable behaviours (non-social fear, hyperactivity and attention seeking) become more apparent. The current study aimed to explore more of these correlations, but this time used reports from trained observers. Phenotypic measurements were recorded from a range of common dog breeds (n = 45) and included cephalic index (CI: the ratio of skull width to skull length), bodyweight, height and sex. These data were then correlated with results from the Dog Mentality Assessment (DMA), which involves trained observers scoring a dog's reaction to stimuli presented over 10 standardised subtests. Each subtest is designed to evoke a behavioural response. Backward elimination and weighted step-wise regression revealed that shorter dogs demonstrated more aggressive tendencies, reacting defensively toward both assistants dressed as ghosts (p = 0.045), and to a dummy (p = 0.008). Taller dogs were more affectionate when greeting and being handled by humans (p = 0.007, p = <0.001, respectively). Taller dogs were also more cooperative (p = <0.001), and playful (p = 0.001) with humans than shorter dogs. Heavier dogs were more inquisitive toward a dummy (p = 0.011), to the source of a metallic noise (p = 0.010) and to an assistant (p = 0.003). Heavier dogs were also more attentive to the ghosts (p = 0.013). In comparison, lighter dogs were cautious of a dummy (p = <0.001) and fearful of the sound of a gunshot (p = <0.001). Lighter dogs were also cautious of, and demonstrated prolonged fearfulness toward, the source of metallic noise (p = <0.001, p = <0.034, respectively). With a far larger sample and the advantage of third-party reporting (which overcomes potential owner bias), the current findings build on previous studies in this field, further supporting covariance between morphology and behaviour.
家犬呈现出广泛的形态特征，这些特征是人类在培育独特犬种的过程中所选择的。最近的研究揭示了形态变化与主人报告的行为之间的相关性。例如，随着身高和体重的降低，许多不良行为（非社交性恐惧、多动和寻求关注）变得更加明显。当前的研究旨在探索更多此类相关性，但这次使用的是训练有素的观察者的报告。对一系列常见犬种（n = 45）进行了表型测量，包括头宽指数（CI：头骨宽度与头骨长度的比值）、体重、身高和性别。然后将这些数据与犬类心理评估（DMA）的结果进行关联，该评估涉及训练有素的观察者对狗在10个标准化子测试中对刺激的反应进行评分。每个子测试旨在引发一种行为反应。向后消除法和加权逐步回归分析表明，体型较短的狗表现出更强的攻击性倾向，对装扮成鬼魂的助手（p = 0.045）和假人（p = 0.008）都会做出防御性反应。体型较高的狗在与人类打招呼和被人类抚摸时更亲昵（分别为p = 0.007，p = <0.001）。体型较高的狗与人类相处时也更具合作性（p = <0.001）且更爱玩耍（p = 0.001）。体重较重的狗对假人（p = 0.011）、金属噪音源（p = 0.010）和助手（p = 0.003）更具好奇心。体重较重的狗对鬼魂也更留意（p = 0.013）。相比之下，体重较轻的狗对假人很谨慎（p = <0.001），对枪声感到恐惧（p = <0.001）。体重较轻的狗对金属噪音源也很谨慎，并表现出长期的恐惧（分别为p = <0.001，p = <0.034）。本研究样本量更大，且具有第三方报告的优势（克服了潜在的主人偏差），当前的研究结果基于该领域之前的研究，进一步支持了形态与行为之间的协方差关系。
